Relearning
by Starseeded
Summary: A man down. Another with self-doubts. Can the Autobots see an old soldier through?
1. The Explosion that Started it All

**_A/N: As stated so many times before. I do not own Transformers._**

_I hope no one kills me for this one. It was an idea that was from a plot bunny, but I twisted it around a little. Yes, it will be sad, and probably a little angsty. Just warning you now._

* * *

**Relearning**

"Guys, I think I found our solution to Megatron!" Wheeljack's voice called over the comm. link to everyone. He seemed proud of his new invention, and it had even gotten the interested yet wary Optimus' attention. Sure, his experiments blew up, but some worked rather well in the past, so he decided to check it out for himself. On his way there something happened, however. He hadn't gotten within 100 feet of the door to Wheeljack's lab, when something exploded. The explosion was powerful enough to blow the doors to the lab clean off and into the wall across from them, leaving huge dents. Optimus covered his face with his hands as debris flew in every direction, the shockwave pushing him back slightly. The explosion had to have been massive. Smoke billowed from the lab, and fires were still all over the place in small spots. There were scorch marks all over the lab and all over the walls and doors where it had blown.

The explosion wasn't exactly anything new, this Optimus knew. They had heard it times before, and then he'd yell "I'm ok!" but this time the call didn't come. No one was worried at first, figuring he was delved deep into his work. Little did they know that the last explosion caused some serious damage, nothing far from reformatting his CPU. Wheeljack sat there, staring into space. He looked as if he had suddenly shut down, but his online optics belied that. Optimus took a few seconds to start approaching again, making sure the area was clear of any more explosions. He could feel something not right in his spark, and through the fires and the smoking and debris, he pushed on until he got to the door, where he could hardly see through, waving his hand in front of his face as his optics switched through various different visions until he could see the best. He also needed to make sure everything was alright, so continued into the Engineer's lab to look for his Engineer, only to find him sitting on one of his many desks, his knees drawn to his chest, back arched, staring at the ground into space, his optics barely lit and he was unmoving, "Wheeljack?"

There was no response.

Instantly Optimus started to worry. His ever happy Engineer was unresponsive, "Soldier, respond!"

Optimus took in the surroundings as he got closer to Wheeljack, looking around as he thought that it looked like a nuclear bomb itself had gone off on everything, demolishing the area. The room was a complete wreck, with places around still on fire. Wheeljack was injured pretty badly, energon leaking from his left arm and his neck, half of his faceplate was missing and one of his 'wings' were gone, but he gave no outward signs of distress. Wheeljack flailed his arms suddenly for no reason, sputtering something incoherent from his vocals then went back to his previous point. This got a quirked brow from the leader, "Wheeljack?" Optimus voice careened pleading, "Are you functional?"

Silence.

_Hello.  
Is there anybody in there?  
Just nod if you can hear me.  
Is there anyone home?_

The bot looked like he was in deep thought, but his position looked uncomfortable and Optimus called his name again, trying to get his attention, only the bot still didn't respond. Wheeljack's optics had never left their stationary place, as if he was fixated in a deep trance.

Worry overcame the leader and he called for his medic, the only one who he knew could possibly snap Wheeljack out of his strange stupor. Ratchet was slow about getting to the lab, taking his merry ole time getting there. He figured nothing was seriously wrong, so he felt no need to rush. Why Optimus was even calling him confused him a little, but the confusion stopped when he approached Wheeljack's lab, staring at the might of the damage that had been done. He slowly approached, stepping on metal and fires, snuffing them as he went, getting to the threshold, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Wheeljack was still staring dumbly at the floor, and Ratchet cocked his head in confusion at his position. Instantly, his systems went to work as he tried to bring Wheeljack back from his stupor, "'Jack 'ole buddy, come on, and answer me." He moved closer, scanning his CPU and body, seeing the various injuries the mech had sustained.

Ratchet had never seen this before, he was completely gone, something that had never happened to any Cybertronian. Wheeljack gave no response as Ratchet tried to hail him time and time again, running scans and giving him shots, and still no response, "What happened to you buddy?" He asked, as if Wheeljack would suddenly answer. The catatonic mech didn't look up or even acknowledge the presence of others around him. His optics barely lit, "Nehh." Wheeljack's fins on his head lit just long enough to give out that sound. It wasn't the sound that worried Ratchet, it was the fact that Wheeljack himself made it. The supposed smart Autobot seemed like he was either way over-energized or had a hard hit to the head.

"Optimus, something is terribly wrong, I can't get a response from him and my scans indicate something is very wrong with his CPU."

"I will help you take him to the med bay for examination," Optimus said as he reached out for Wheeljack, who still hadn't moved, "Nehh, Sys-sys-system re-re-re-rebooting, s-s-sys-system failure-ure. Cr-cr-cross exam-am-am-amina-tion-tion-tion crit-crit-cr-critical system-m-m-m just…" Wheeljack stuttered, still staring at the empty spot on the floor. Optimus and Ratchet tilted their head. Where had _that_ come from? No one had ever experienced anything like this, and Ratchet wasn't sure what to even call what had happened to him. The medic regarded Wheeljack intently, watching for signs of anything, life, but the bot stared after he was done speaking.

As Optimus went to lift Wheeljack, suddenly the bot swung out violently, as if refusing to be touched. He then placed his arms back in their position and continued to stare at the floor, "What is wrong with him?"

"I – I don't know, Prime," Ratchet answered, still scanning Wheeljack's CPU for abnormalities. At first he found nothing, but then it came to him, and he looked at the Engineer with a baffled expression, "We need to him at the med bay now, Prime, I fear something has gone terribly wrong with his CPU."

As if Optimus hadn't figured that one out on his own while his Engineer babbled stupidly.

Optimus tried to grab at Wheeljack again, only to have an arm flung out at him, hitting him square in the chest hard enough to leave a dent. Ratchet watched with amazement, "I can give him a sedative, it should help,"

"I didn't know he could hit that hard," Optimus rubbed his chest plate, staring at Wheeljack confused. Ratchet went to give Wheeljack the shot, but another arm flung out at him hard, knocking him backwards into a table and onto his aft. Both bots stared incredulously at the Engineer. Of course, the situation had gotten the attention of others, not to mention the explosion itself. As onlookers peered in, Perceptor was one of the ones who approached him, examining him.

"Wheeljack's condition is known to humans as Catatonic Schizophrenia, something usually caused by extreme stress, depression or trauma." Perceptor supplied. It was the explosion that had done it, for sure, but how, no one knew. Obviously, Wheeljack had apparently made one too make explosions that this time had gotten the better of him.

_Come on, now.  
I hear you're feeling down.  
Well I can ease your pain,  
Get you on your feet again._

Perceptor had seen what the engineer had done when Optimus and Ratchet and wasn't sure if he wanted any part of it. But the room was still smoldering and on fire, so they needed to get him out of there STAT. He called for Ironhide, who came up behind all of the others and made his way through, "What happened here?"

"Wheeljack's invention blew up?"

"Well why do you need me?" He glanced at the engineer, confused as to why he was sitting like he was.

"Because something fried his CPU," Ratchet explained, "Perceptor says it's something called Catatonic Schizophrenia. He refuses to move."

"Well what makes you think that _I_ can move him?" Ironhide grunted.

"Brute force, all of us, we need to get him out of here before something else explodes," Optimus said.

Ironhide approached Wheeljack, curious himself of Wheeljack's condition. He waved a hand in front of the Engineer's optics and got no response, called his name a few times, and still nothing, "Wow, must have been some blast!" he reached for Wheeljack's arm, and the Engineer flung it out at him, missing him because Ironhide backed up just in time, "What was that?!"

"That was an involuntary." Perceptor added, "It sometimes happens when they are moved or touched."

"Well brainiac, do you have any suggestions as to how to move him from this place?"

"All of us will have to hold him down." Optimus said as he approached the Engineer.

Wheeljack had no idea what was going on in his mind. He couldn't access hardly any of his CPU, and even though he wanted desperately to tell everyone he was ok, he couldn't. His body nor vocals would respond to him. The trauma of the explosion told him to stay where he was, that if he wasn't careful everything he touched would explode, thus killing those around him. He knew he wasn't about to move. He wasn't sure if he knew how, even. He could hear voices, but he could not make them out, as if they were speaking a completely different language. He felt like if he moved he would in fact, explode himself. In his CPU it was actually racing, but his body would not really respond, and when it did, it was unusually violent. He didn't have the mind to question what was going on, only stared at the floor, babbling every once in a while with incoherent words. Words flashed across his HUD, but he couldn't read them.

**Armor 60 percent damaged – Repair imperative.**

**Core processor – 80 percent damaged – suggestion: Full system reboot, proceed?...**

Wheeljack didn't have it in his mind to actually tell himself to reboot. He was deep within his core processor in a place that was like a box. No entrance, no escape. He only wanted to sit quietly, unmoving, knowing that he would be safe if he did. He tried to access all his processor, but found that there were firewalls even he could not break. Despair overtook his own CPU, although there were no outward signs of the abuse he was suffering inside. He was lost in thought, only one, however. To avoid moving. To avoid anything. There were explosions over and over again across his HUD also, from the past, everything that had ever blown up to now, the most violent explosion that not only knocked him for a loop, but also was threatening his very existence. There was no way out of this horror.

"Optimus, might I suggest that we strap him down so he isn't a danger to us or anyone else?"

"We do have an empty room where we can place him until we know how to treat this particular problem," Ratchet said softly.

Optimus nodded. There was no other choice. The bot that sat on the desk was in for a rude awakening, and they suddenly jumped him, all at once. Wheeljack didn't move, in fact he stayed in the position that they had him, which gave them all time to grab him and pin him down, taking his arms and tying them up, along with his legs.

That was rather easy.

Ironhide and Brawn moved to pick him up and brought him into the med bay and laid him on a berth. Ratchet allowed only Optimus in the med bay as he assessed the situation. He didn't dare untie the severely damaged mech as he used several types of equipment to make Wheeljack stationary. As he scanned his CPU, he found that the malfunction was something that was apparently incurable. While he assessed his CPU, he went to work on the rest of his body, slowly repairing him. It took long than expected, because sometimes Wheeljack would jump or jerk for no apparent reason, "Wheeljack, lay still, you old bot."

Others were very worried about their catatonic friend. They had never seen him suffer something like this, and wondered if his very existence was in question. They would peek every once in a while at Ratchet as he worked, sometimes watching him flinch away when the Engineer moved quickly. Some were there for morbid curiosity, others were there to see if their friend would make it out. Ratchet always managed to fix them all, no matter how badly they had been damaged, but little did they know that this glitch would not be curable by anything Ratchet could get his hands on. This frustrated the medic as he finished fixing up the body of the Engineer.

_Relax.  
I need some information first.  
Just the basic facts:  
Can you show me where it hurts?_

Wheeljack suddenly spoke, but it was nothing but garbled mumble, making Ratchet jerk to look at him. He remembered him saying that before. He wondered what Wheeljack was talking about, but didn't question him, only scanned his CPU more. There had to be some kind of glitch that was fixable, but his scans came back with an unidentified system failure. He turned, looking to the door where others had gathered. His face was solemn as he looked at them, shaking his head sadly. Across from the med bay was the room that was mentioned. Optimus ordered it to be completely cleared out, and afterward, Ratchet lifted Wheeljack over his shoulder and walked to it, the doors hissing open, and he set Wheeljack down on the ground, untying him. Wheeljack remained in the same position as when he had untied him, "'Jack ole buddy, you gotta snap out of this," he said softly, looking down at the dim optics of his friend.

_This is not how I am.  
I have become comfortably numb._

"Perceptor," he called. The scientist was quick at his side, "Find out everything you can about this Catatonic Schizophrenia. I want to know if there is a cure, I want to know everything. He is obviously an danger to everyone including himself.

"I already have, Ratchet," the scientist said, "It seems that this is caused by trauma or depression, and although humans have medication for it, I do not know of any medication for an Autobot with such a problem. What I did read, is that they will sometimes not move for hours, days, weeks or even months. They are completely dependent on others," Perceptor said sadly. He knew this was going to be something very difficult for everyone to accept at the Ark, and Ratchet instantly went about hunting for those who would want to help on the caring for Wheeljack. Some to feed him, some to clean him up, others to sit with him and try to get responses. A lot of them volunteered for the job, even the twins, "He can use all the help he can get," Optimus said as he glanced into the room where the Engineer lay.

_There is no pain, you are receding.  
A distant ships smoke on the horizon.  
You are only coming through in waves.  
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're sayin'._

"I have done more research into this disorder in humans, as far as it has been noted, they can be sometimes violent, so I recommend that he remain in this room. He will not be very reactive to outside stimuli, if at all," Perceptor said, "Perhaps later we can hook him up to Teletraan One and see what exactly happened,"

"You think that is a good idea? He could bring down the entire Ark." Ratchet argued, and he had a valid point. Wheeljack's own core processor had access to every known file of Teletraan One.

"Maybe he will snap out of it himself?" another voice said.

Ratchet regarded the voice, "Hmm," he quietly looked back to the one in the room.

Ratchet looked down at the downed Engineer sadly, shaking his head as he moved to press the button for the door to close. He couldn't believe that one of his friends had something so severe happen to them. He wanted so badly to find a cure, to get their own Wheeljack back, but it was hopeless right now. There had to be something though, and he would research until he found it. He wouldn't give up so easily on the Engineer. He reached down with his hand over his spark. Hopefully this would not be the continued fate of their friend.


	2. Communcation Failed

**_A/N: I don't own Transformers._**

_For all of you Wheeljack lovers out there, I love him too. Why I decided to pick on him is beyond me. Prolly the same reason I picked on Starscream, but you all see what happened to him! Anyways. No flames, not in the mood to deal with them._

_-italics-_ Wheeljack speaking from within his silent prison.

* * *

Weeks went by and nothing had changed in the inventor on the outside, inside, however, he was screaming that someone would hear him, but to no avail. It was as if he was speaking only to himself, because no one would respond, and even he wasn't sure why. It was confusing and depressing in the same note.

On the outside, everyone took their turns caring for the forever dazed Wheeljack, including the twins who spent the most time with the Engineer when they weren't called into battle which was unusual, although no one questioned them. Wheeljack would even refuse to be fed for some reason at times, which made them have to hook him up to external Energon feeds, meaning he had to be sedated and fed a tube into his systems, giving him the nourishment to help keep him alive, no matter how out of it he was, no one lost hope on him or turned away when help was needed.

He was in very bad shape and things were only getting worse for him deep in his mind. Sometimes he could hear them talking, other times he couldn't make out what they were saying and it frustrated him. No one complained about the caring of him, and even Optimus took his turn, spending hours with his officer, wishing that some miracle would bring him back, sometimes others just hung out in his little room with him to give him some company, hoping every day that he would snap out of his stupor. Nothing seemed to work for him, even ideas that Perceptor or Ratchet had come up with. All the while, Ratchet and Perceptor had been hunting wildly on a way to repair the fallen Engineer in other ways if the ways they tried didn't work. Even Hoist had gotten into it, hoping that he might be of some service.

There was a viewing room next to Wheeljack's room which gave the observers plenty of space to see how he was doing and watch him. Oftentimes no one wanted to bare witness to what was happening, especially when he would thrash about, his body jerking in ways that not only seemed uncomfortable, but downright looked as if he was going to tear one of his own limbs off, there were also a few cameras supplied by Red Alert to help keep watch on him. At times the cameras had to be replaced since he would go on a rampage out of nowhere and destroy them. Red Alert stood by and watched sometimes, and other times, others were on watch for differences in his actions, differences in his programming, all praying to Primus that he would wake from his daze. It was sad to watch him. Their once proud inventor brought down to this heap of Autobot that barely moved, stared into space as if he had no spark of life left of him at all.

"Sunny," Sideswipe asked gloomily, "what do they do with Autobots that are no longer functioning normally?"

"I don't know, bro," He sadly looked to Wheeljack, ignoring his brother's pet name for him, "but I hope it doesn't mean they have to deactivate him,"

Sideswipe huffed. He did like Wheeljack, hell everyone like Wheeljack. All the while, they continued to sit in the room with their Engineer, talking to him quietly, bounding out of the way when he would have a violent outburst. Sometimes they would hold him down for his own good, because he would attack himself, reaching for internal wires and yanking hard. It was sad to see Wheeljack like this, and it ripped into the sparks of everyone on the base, "Maybe we can do something?"

"Like what, 'Swipe? We aren't medics!" Sunny argued, although hoping deep down that Sideswipe was right, "They've been doing everything they can,"

_-I know guys, I know,-_ Wheeljack responded in his own mind, hearing those words, somewhat muffled and garbled, but getting the point, _-but it's not working!-_

"Have they even gotten into his head? Figured out what exactly is causing this?"

_-I know what's causing it guys! I know! Just let me explain it to you! Can't you understand?-_

"Not as far as I know, but you know how tight mouthed medics and scientists can be," Sunstreaker moved closer to Wheeljack, he reached an arm around the Catatonic bot, Wheeljack never responded, "We will get you out of this, 'Jack, we will,"

_-I sure hope so,-_ Wheeljack was talking to them, even though they could not hear him. Each time he understood them, he would answer, sometimes he would even question what they were saying. He knew they were trying to help! _Knew_ it! But there was nothing that could get through to them while his body defied him.

Sideswipe was a bit surprised to see Sunstreaker acting so affectionately towards the Engineer, but he wouldn't question, save his brother's dignity.

"Out-t-t of-of-of the ash-ash-ashes it ri-rises-ses anew-ew-ew," Wheeljack sputtered, his head swaying slowly back and forth. It pained the brothers, and they really couldn't stand to hear their once intelligent inventor sputtering words they didn't even understand. Sunstreaker gave Sideswipe a gloomy look, "Maybe we should leave him alone for now?"

"No, bro, we can't. He needs us." Sideswipe sighed, kneeling in front of the Engineer, waving a hand sometimes in front of his optics, even though it was in vain, "even if he doesn't know we are here, we can't just leave him,"

"He doesn't even acknowledge we are here, Sides," Sunstreaker said sadly, "who we even are,"

"I know, but deep down, I think he knows that we all care. I think he knows that we are here to help him,"

"But… but what if he doesn't? What if he's in like some kinda coma or something?"

"It doesn't matter, I just want to make sure he's comfortable, no matter what."

"Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, I need you out of there for now," A voice spoke over an intercom, and both brothers looked up from comforting their engineer, "Huh? Why?"

"Because I need some time alone with him, I need to run a few tests, I think I may have found a way to help him," it was Perceptor. If anyone were to come through, it would be him. He was a scientist, after all.

Both twins stood slowly. They didn't want to leave Wheeljack, who hummed quietly to himself when they both moved away from him. Frowns overtook their faceplates and they exited the room. After a few moments, Perceptor entered, standing near the engineer, "Wheeljack, I think we have found a possible solution to your problem,"

No response. Wheeljack's head dumbly went back and forth slowly as he stared at the floor, his mind reeling. He had heard Perceptor, unbeknownst to the scientist.

_-Can't anyone hear me? I'm right here!-_ he cried in misery from his little hole, but no one responded, as if his voice was nothing but silence in this already dark little world.

"We will have to erase most of your memory, erase most of all of your data. I'm sorry, my friend, it's the only way," Perceptor's optics shown the sorrow as he explained to his friend how he would have to erase his memory, pretty much starting him over from scratch. He lightly placed a hand on Wheeljack's shoulder, and the Engineer whined softly, as if he knew what Perceptor was telling him. Ratchet entered not long after, looking at both of the bots with sadness, "Did you tell him?"

"Yes, Ratchet, but I don't think he understands,"

"I didn't think he would, my friend, but this is the only way. We will move him in a few breems to my medical bay, and prep him," Ratchet slowly left, leaving the scientist with the engineer. Optimus had no idea what they were about to do, and Ratchet and Perceptor feared bringing up the bad news to their leader, knowing how much he liked Wheeljack.

Wheeljack hummed and whined softly, his optics never moving as he stared at the floor, "A-a-a-ashes to-to-to-to ash-ash-ashes, dust-t-t-t to du-du-du-dust,"

Perceptor sighed softly, "This is for you own good, buddy." He moved to stand, and walked towards the exit, opening the door slowly, he hunted down a couple of bots who could help lift the engineer safely to the berth that waited for him.

Wheeljack sat quietly in the room, mumbling words, sometimes garbled, other times stuttering, swaying his head back and forth as a bored horse would do in a stall. His mind staggered over the terror of explosions. They were everywhere, consuming his very being, frightening him for not only himself, but others around him. One second he was on fire, the next the walls around him were exploding. Was there no way out of this horror?

In the box in his mind, he was fully aware, but his body would not show that he was responsive. He hadn't heard what the others were planning to do to him, only thing he heard was explosions. Oftentimes when others were in the room with them, they were on fire themselves, sometimes melting from the heat of the fire, but his body never responded, as if it was the will of his destiny to be taken by fire.

**Core Processor failure by proxy – Attempting Repair.**

**Firewalls established – Code 678.56 – Unbreakable.**

**Logic systems failure – Attempting Repair.**

Even though he could see what was being screened across his HUD, he could not react to it. Even if his systems started into a total failure, there was nothing he could do. Sometimes he could understand what was reading, other times, it was as if it was a completely different language.

"Rea-p-p-p wha-what y-y-yo-you sow-w-w-w, re-re-re-rea-reap wh-wh-wha-what you-u-u-u so-w-w-w." he whispered.

Why did Primus do this to him? Why? He was only an inventor, he wasn't mean, he wasn't evil, he wasn't a bad bot. He was only trying to do the better good for the Autobots. He meant no harm. He hadn't wanted to hurt anyone in the explosion. He was only trying to figure out another way to help the Autobots, why had he been wracked by this last one. This one that would force him so deep in his own mind that there was no escape.

_-I'm ok! I'm really ok!- _ More explosions wracked his mind, -_I think._- The walls were on fire, and his body would react by thrashing wildly with no precise reason outwardly. He wished that his body would listen to him, he wished the others would hear him. Know that all he really needed was that box opened so he could call out to his friends, but nothing. As despair gripped him, he curled in more on himself. Was this the way he was to end? He signed, deep in his mind, trying to access vital information, yet the firewalls blocked him, and he didn't have the processing power to break them. This was going to be hell, he knew it.

A few breems later, as promised, Ironhide and Brawn entered the room. They both gave a grimaced look towards Wheeljack, and went to reach for him. The bot never moved, holding the position they took him in and started to lift him slowly. It was only then that his external units fired up and thrashed, knocking Brawn into the wall and Ironhide into the looking glass, almost shattering it, "Ratchet! He needs a sedative!" came Ironhide's burly voice. Ratchet wasted no time entering the room, making for very little moving room since it was already small and already taken up by three bots, "Hold him," Ratchet's finger reformed into a needle as he accessed the needed fluids from within his own systems and administered the sedative and Wheeljack's body went limp.

**Sedative Administered – System Overload – Power 20 percent.**

Brawn and Ironhide lifted the Engineer with no problems, moving him quickly before the sedatives wore off. When they lied him down on the berth, Ratchet had already gotten into the med bay before them, pointing to the cuffs that waited Wheeljack's extremities, "I really hate to do this, old friend," Ratchet whispered, unknowing Wheeljack heard him.

_-Do what?- _Wheeljack asked, but his body gave no outward appearance he had heard. What were they going to do to him? He couldn't see out of his own optics, he could barely make out anything around him. Ironhide stood by the berth a few moments as Ratchet started hooking Wheeljack up to ports and wires, and an Energon line.

**System interface established – Preparing to connect.**

Ratchet worked quickly, hooking up other lines to the inventor, so that he was on full life support. As he finished that, he started hard wiring Wheeljack into the computer readying him for their procedure.

**System interface connected – Preparing power leverage.**

**Energon lines connected – Outside feed established.**

What were they doing to him? Why weren't they answering him? He was right here! He was perfectly fine! _Come on guys, answer me! Don't hook me up to that machine, I don't need it!_

**Ports connected – External processor feed established.**

Wheeljack tried to claw his way from the box that held him, explosions or not, he needed to get free. He needed to tell them that he was alright, that they were making a mistake! He felt the mainframe computer's intrusion, and fought it back, but without all of his processing power, it wasn't working at all.

**External system power down imminent – Preparing to shut down.**

_-No! No, please, guys, please don't do this! Please don't shut me down! I'm alive, can't you see?-_ Wheeljack called from his darkness of a box. His prison.

Ratchet stood with Perceptor. They were both looking down at the lifeless body of the engineer. What they were going to perform saddened them both deeply. This wasn't something that they did every day, in fact, they only did it to systems that were already crashed in which there was no other option, "I hope you're ready for this," Ratchet said as he moved around the body of the engineer, continuing to connect him to the external systems, "This will be tedious and will take a few earth hours to complete. But hopefully when we are done, he will be like new."

"Like new, you say," Perceptor said in a more questioning tone, " You do realize that he will have to relearn everything he's ever known. He may never be the same person again, Ratchet,"

"I know, Perceptor," Ratchet sighed, this was the last thing he ever wanted to do to one of his own friends, it was like a lobotomy, only worse, "but it's the only chance he has,"

**Mainframe interface compliance succeeded – Starting data transfer.**

_-Guys, guys, guys,-_ Wheeljack cried from his prison. He was getting scared. He felt his spark wanting to explode from its chamber. He needed to tell them_, _had to get through to them_, -Guys, guys, wait, you can't do this! I'm fine!- _he cried out, despair washing over him as he felt the mainframe intruding more into his processor, inching it's way through his databanks, into his memory and his core, where he thrived, _-Please, please stop. Please!-_ he begged, trying to fight off the massive swarm of information that was being downloaded and uploaded at the same time.

Ratchet moved to the other side of the berth where he stared at a monitor. Even though Wheeljack was perfectly ok deep in his processor, the computer was giving readings of being stone cold. The medic's hands moved furiously over the keyboard of the computer as he started to set up sequences, "What is going on in here?" Optimus' voice came from the once closed doors. Why hadn't they heard him or even seen him for that matter?

"Optimus," Ratchet turned, his hands moving from the keyboard, "We think we may have figured out a way to help him, but it won't be pretty,"

"What are you trying to say?"

"We will have to erase his memory banks completely, start him over from scratch, give him basic data and he will have to relearn everything,"

_-What!? Noooo! Come on, guys, please, can't anyone hear me? You can't do this to me! You can't!-_

Optimus stared at the medic a moment, deciding what to say, as if he was at a loss for words, "What are you going to do?"

"We are going to start him over, like being reborn,"

"Are you sure that is the best thing to do?"

"Well we can't leave him like this, Prime, he's a vegetable." Perceptor cut in, "I fear that he may never recover, we have done everything in our power to restore him,"

Ratchet moved back to the keyboard, as he did, Wheeljack's body thrashed against it's holds, "Nuhhhhh! Ex-ex-explosion im-im-im-imminent! Seek-k-k-k me-me-med-me-medical at-t-t-t-t-tention im-m-m-mmediate-ly-ly-ly!"

Optimus shook his head as the Engineer's body thrashed and his vocal processors spat wildly. He didn't want to lose his friend, but anything was better than this... anything. He couldn't bear to feel the agony in his own spark as he watched the bot react like he did. Move like he did. Talk like he did, like it was some kind of computer gone haywire. He only hoped that Perceptor and Ratchet could bring him back safely.

* * *

_Next Chapter: Will Wheeljack make it through to everyone else before it's too late? Or will he have to be reverted to a Sparkling? Guess you'll have to wait and see, huh?_


	3. A Twin's Gift

**_A/N: I don't own Transformers. Not yet. Not ever. lol_**

_Anyhows. I couldn't bring myself to turn Wheeljack into a veggie. I like him too much. _

* * *

Ratchet stared at the information on the screen. He watched as the computer finalized its connection with his friend's mind. He really didn't want to do this. Really. It would be so hard on all of them, and Wheeljack, he didn't know, would ever be the same. Perhaps he would retain some of his memory, but only if Ratchet was very careful with the procedure. He realized this task was going to take hours, zapping at processors here and there, resetting links, and erasing and filling those parts with what information he could still store in the computer. He looked up at Perceptor and sighed, "wait a minute, I need a minute," he said gently, and he leaned up. Perceptor looked at Ratchet. It didn't take the mind of a scientist to see the sorrow in the Medic's face, and he nodded. He knew Ratchet had to be completely ready for this.

Wheeljack was stable, so he left him lie while he walked out. He felt like a murderer in a way. He walked into his own quarters and started pacing, arguing within him that what he was doing was their only hope, and even Perceptor had told him, Optimus had approved of the procedure, so why did he feel so guilty? Perceptor would be there for the procedure, but he couldn't perform the tedious task at hand. It was all Ratchet, and Ratchet alone.

Perceptor took the moment to back away from Wheeljack's body, taking one final glance to the machine he was hooked into, making sure his spark was stable, along with the rest of his systems. He wanted to make sure everyone who wanted to see him before this job could, knowing they may very well be saying goodbye to their once friend. It was Optimus who came in, just as Perceptor was about to leave, he took him by the shoulder, stopping him, "Where is Ratchet?"

"He… He went to think. He's having doubts, I believe, Prime, He needs some time before he does this. I think we all need some time." The scientist glanced to Wheeljack and shook his head sadly, "I feel as though there was more we should have done,"

"Perceptor, you both did everything you could, you cannot blame yourself for what you both came up with as the right and best solution,"

"But he's one of our own men. He is one of our best friends," It was as if Perceptor was trying to argue the point with himself more than to his leader. Optimus nodded, his optics going to Wheeljack then back to the scientist. This was indeed one of the most difficult decisions he ever had to make as a leader, especially when it concerned one of his very own men.

"Wheeljack, I don't know what to do," Ratchet whispered, burying his head in his hands. He knelt down next to his recharging berth and stared at the wall. It was so hard. He was so confident until it came down to the final moments. It was even more difficult knowing that Wheeljack may never be the same. How could he do this to one of his very own friend? Hell, he wasn't sure if he could do such a thing to even a Decepticon.

Back at the medical bay, the twins had been the first to go in, seeing the scientist stall and Ratchet leave piqued their interest and they walked past Perceptor and Optimus who stood outside of the room talking quietly.

They both glanced at Wheeljack. Their friend lied on the berth, he looked more like an empty shell than a bot. His wiring and energon lines made the twins cringe as they went to reach for the inventor's body. They wanted to bad for a miracle, anything to bring Wheeljack back from his destroyed destiny. They both looked at each other. They swore that they would never allow him to lay a hand on anything explosive again, but that would be difficult, because he could use a can and a onion and manage an explosion. They mused together the things he would build, sharing their internal link with each other, "I can't stand this anymore, Swipe!" Sunstreaker sudden trilled. Sideswipe looked up quickly at his brother, surprise crossing his faceplates, "They did everything they can, Sunny," Sideswipe tried to reassure Sunstreaker, but he knew deep down that Sunstreaker wasn't buying it.

"No!" Sunstreaker yelled. Sideswipe could see rage creeping in his brother, "Come on, bro, let's leave,"

"Back off," Sunstreaker pushed Sideswipe's hand away, "I can't allow this; they couldn't have done everything!"

"They did, bro, they did _everything_, come on, you're getting too upset," Sideswipe urged, reaching for his brother's arm.

Sunstreaker glared at his brother a long moment. For the first time in their lives, Sunstreaker was unreadable. They _hadn't_ tried everything. And the fact was, they really hadn't. At least he thought so! He rummaged through all of the wires that were connected to Wheeljack, careful not to pull them as he did so, as if he was searching for something, "There has to be something… _anything_," He whispered as he felt there was a need there that he couldn't explain, even to his brother. Even he wasn't sure what it was, almost like a pull he couldn't resist.

Sideswipe watched his brother, curious what he was doing, "Bro, there isn't anything! Be careful, or you'll kill him!"

"You know what, _brother_?" Oh, Sideswipe knew it couldn't be good with a tone like that. He knew his brother, and knew him well. Sunstreaker gave a defiant stare to his brother again, his look dangerous and this time, Sunstreaker suddenly cut off his link to his brother, which made Sideswipe shy, he pulled his hand from the mess of wires and reached out, grabbed his brother by the arm and pulled him away from Wheeljack and pulled him towards the door, "You're so worried about it, _you_ leave!" he yelled, throwing his brother with such force it was almost unbelievable and Sideswipe ended up on the floor in the corridor, looking up at the closing doors with puzzlement. What had his brother just done? The noise and the red twin on the floor made Perceptor and Optimus wince and look down, and the doors to the Medical lab slammed shut fully, and from inside Sunstreaker barricaded and locked the door, even going as far as destroying the code system, making entry impossible, he knew of one thing to try and no one would stop him, no matter the danger. And he would try, boy would he _try_. He would have to sever him and his brother's link temporarily for this to perhaps work.

Outside, Sideswipe felt the twinge in his spark as his twin severed their link, "Sunstreaker? Sunstreaker! What are you doing!? Noooo!" he yelled with fraught and leapt to his feet and began prying at the door with all his strength. Optimus and Perceptor both moved towards the door, seeing Sideswipe act like this wasn't normal, even if they were doing something wrong, Sideswipe had an edge to his voice they didn't like, Perceptor moved Sideswipe as he fought against him hard. Perceptor had no idea just how strong Sideswipe really was, but he tried, just so Optimus could try, but even the strength of the great leader wasn't enough, no avail. They needed Ratchet, and needed him _now_!

A twin's bond was powerful, more powerful than anyone gave them credit for, in fact, and he was about to show just how powerful. Sunstreaker walked back to Wheeljack and looked at the computer, then to the inventor, only one shot, one shot alone, and there was no guarantee this would work, but the scientist and medic didn't try this one. Hell, they _couldn't_ try this one, they weren't twins, they didn't have the gift of spark bonds like this, but he did.

"_Ratchet! Sunstreaker has locked himself in the medical lab!"_ The sudden burst of noise came over his own intercom and Ratchet jumped, looking up to the speaker which called to him. _What_? He hurriedly stood, what was that crazy twin doing now? He could kill Wheeljack if he tried something stupid! Ratchet leaped to his doors and headed for the medical lab as fast as his legs could carry him, sliding to a stop in front of the doors, where Sideswipe was still trying to pry it open, "Sideswipe, move_, move_!" Ratchet commanded, nearly yanking the twin from the door with a force that belied his size, "Sunstreaker!" he yelled, trying to open the door using his own codes, but Sunstreaker made sure no one was getting in until he was ready. He saw the yellow twin glance towards the door then moved back over Wheeljack's body. At first he couldn't believe his optics as Sunstreaker started reaching for his chest plate, "SUNSTREAKER STOP!" he yelled.

Sunstreaker glanced at them all who were looking in and yelling at him as he fiddled around with his own wires then looking down when he found the right one and pulled until he had a few foot's length, then leaned down to the Engineer, "I hope this works," He whispered.

"What is that darn fool doing?" Ratchet asked as he stopped to watch.

Still hunting the severed link, the red twin started to cry out in hysterics, "He cut our link, Ratch!" He realized, "Sunny, please, don't do this!" Sideswipe clawed his way to look in as Perceptor and Optimus moved to the window with Ratchet.

Ratchet watched closely, surmising what was going on. There was only one conclusion he could come up with and he gasped, "He's going to feed his own spark into Wheeljack's!" Ratchet realized as he watched, "Stupid kid is gonna get himself killed! He's gonna kill them both!" Ratchet started a whole new tearing at the doors, but still there was no getting in.

Sunstreaker reached around the wires that were connected to Wheeljack, finding the one he wanted, using it to guide him to where he was searching, following it to the ports in Wheeljack's chest, hunting down another port that may be there but hidden, and then he got a dark look in his optics as he looked towards the door. His fingers stopped when he found the port. Wheeljack had one? Well since he did, he was going to make good use of it. He glanced at the door one more time. He had heard them, for sure. But they couldn't stop him. His optics went to Wheeljack, twining his hand with the wires, preparing to connect himself with Wheeljack. This connection would require a lot of power and then some. It wasn't a normal interface, and he knew it. This was deeper than that, more intimate. Something he only shared with his brother. And quite possibly the only thing that could save Wheeljack's life.

"SUNNY NOOOO!!" Sideswipe cried out, he started to become frenzied, pushing and hitting to get to the door so he could get in, but someone grabbed him from behind. It took him a second to realize it was Powerglide. His body started to betray him, feeling numbness creep its way from his feet up as he went to his knees, the darkness hitting him like a brick. The hysteria of course had gotten the attention of others, and Ironhide reached for the red twin as he started to become unstable, "What? What's happening to him, Ratch?" Ironhide asked only to be answered by a desperate twin, "The link – Sunstreaker cut it, I- I don't know what he is gonna do!" he looked back into the medical bay, his optics barely making out visuals for him, but his frantic optics were still trying to figure out what exactly his brother was doing, and there, he saw Sunstreaker make a full connection with Wheeljack's body. It was odd to see, and for a second he felt the darkness overwhelm him more as his brother started to convulse, jerking much like Wheeljack's body did and dropped slack over the body, looking just as lifeless as the Engineer that lay there.

_I was standing at the end of my rainbow…  
With nowhere to go and no pot of gold in sight…_

Before Sunstreaker could penetrate the firewalls, which were a bitch to get through and such to get to Wheeljack's presence, Wheeljack was fearing his own downfall, now. Deep within his Core Processor, he was weighing his options, and right now, anything looked better than what he was about to face. He knew that they were going to erase him. He remembered hearing it. He remembered the words drilled into him. There was no hope, and he had settled himself to this fate, curling more within himself than ever.

_And the one who cares was lost somewhere in time… _

Did they care? Did they know? No, they couldn't have known. They wouldn't do something like this if they knew he was fine inside. Now he faced the harsh reality of being trapped in your own mind. They were going to destroy him and there was nothing he could do about it. He could feel the computer still probing his mind, digging it's way deeper into him, and now he just wanted to cease to exist. Anything was better than being locked in this darkness he was condemned to subsist.

_All my wishes were just way too much to hope for…_

"Wheeljack?" the soft voice was faded, almost inaudible.

Wheeljack lurched when he heard the voice. Who was that? How were they talking to him? He was completely severed from the outside world. Who was here? What had they _done_?

_But when I saw you I knew I'd seen the light…_

"Wheeljack?" the voice called again, this time a little more distinct, but still as if in a fog.

"What? Who are you? What are you doing?" He didn't recognize who it was at first. Wheeljack's voice was scared, deep in melancholy, and Sunstreaker hunted for the glow within the Engineer's mind, searching for the life that made him who he was.

"Wheeljack, keep talking, I can hear you," Sunstreaker coaxed in the darkness that he found was more disturbing than being in the death clutches of a Decepticon. It made Sunstreaker shiver internally. How could anyone survive this hell? Or want to for that matter?

"Su-Sunstreaker? Is that you?" Wheeljack called, hope rising in him as he finally put a face to the twin's voice. Even if the hope was small, thinking maybe his mind was playing tricks on him in a last ditch effort.

_And not a moment too soon…  
Without a minute to spare…_

"You're ok, 'Jack," Sunstreaker called, more concerned for the scared creature that was Wheeljack's mind and spark, meandering further into the darkness, following the voice that seemed as distant as the darkness was deep, "It's me, 'Jack, its Sunstreaker, I'm here."

_You touched my heart…  
When I didn't have a prayer…  
In my darkest hour…  
With my world filled with gloom…_

"Sunstreaker, what have you done?" Wheeljack asked, now moving in his little prison to search for the one soul that could help him, "Do you realize this could kill us both?" He shot an angry feeling at Sunstreaker, angrier that the kid had done something so foolish to himself, not really caring he had done it for Wheeljack, but the feeling was quickly replaced by hope, "I'm so scared, I'm so alone, why can't anyone hear me, why can't they understand?"Sunstreaker continued to follow the voice.

_You rescued me just before I crossed the line…_

"Something happened when you blew your last invention up, it fried you," Sunstreaker said softly, "It was bad, you ended up in something what Percy called Catatonic Schizophrenia or some scrap like that."

_What_? "What in Primus is that?" Wheeljack asked out of the darkness, now in his own search for the yellow twin. The one being his only salvation from this Pit he was forced to suffer.

"I swear if I get you out of this – If we get out of this, 'Jack, you're _never _touching anything that could blow you up again!" Sunstreaker threatened, using his own spark link to link to Wheeljack much like his own brother so he could feel how Sunstreaker was feeling about the idea. This made Wheeljack back up from the twin. He never realized the intimate bond between the brothers. How did Sideswipe ever _deal_ with him?

The thought hit the Engineer hard, wondering how exactly the twin was doing this, "How are you doing this?"

"I – I severed me and Sideswipe for this, temporarily. It was the only thing I could think of,"

"What do you mean? You do realize that this may have cost Sideswipe's life?"

Sunstreaker stopped cold. What had he just said? Sideswipe's life? How? He hadn't thought about that when he was thinking about the Engineer, "I – I don't think I understand, 'Jack,"

"I know how spark twins are. You severed yours and his links, even if it is just temporary, which means that he might not make it through this." Wheeljack tried to explain, worry crossing the spark-link, "He might go crazy. He might kill himself. He might – You don't realize the problems you may have caused," Wheeljack stopped there, "You're a fool,"

"Don't even go there, old bot, a fool would have allowed you to be erased," Sunstreaker argued, "I am sure Sides will be fine, he's more resilient than that,"

"You think, huh?" Wheeljack asked reproachfully, his voice close. Sunstreaker started to see the silhouette of a bot standing there. As the body came into view, he saw the Wheeljack he knew, arms folded and his head somewhat down, and he was leaning on… nothing?

* * *

_Next Chapter: What was Wheeljack saying about Sideswipe? _


	4. What Are Brothers For?

**_A/N: I don't own - You know what, I ain't even gonna put it. If They haven't figured it out by now, they never will._**

_Anyways, I hope you all like this chappy. Ty to all my reviewers, it is there that helped me decide on what to do about the Trio Trouble. Thanks a mil!_

_A special thanks to Blood shifter for making sure my grammar and spelling was alright. You're the best!_

* * *

Ratchet fiddled more with the door, Ironhide even tried to break in, but it was hopeless. Sideswipe on the other hand was out cold. It was strange to see for them, but they figured it had something to do with Sunstreaker being out cold too. Not everyone knew how strong a brother-spark-bond was, Optimus knew however and glanced down at the red twin, "Is he going to be alright?"

"Give me a minute to take a look, ok, Prime? We are still trying to get in,"

Optimus nodded as he knelt down next to the red twin, his own scanners crossing him to view what might be wrong, but he wasn't nearly half as advanced as Ratchet when it came to these things. The matrix didn't seem to help in that way either.

* * *

"So. How do I get out of here?" Sunstreaker asked, looking around the darkness that shrouded both of the beings.

Wheeljack shrugged, "That, I am not so sure," He looked up then back down, "Let me think a minute, I might come up with something,"

"So you're saying I am stuck here with you?" Wheeljack felt the edge of the yellow twin rise and he shifted his stance and nodded, "For now,"

Wheeljack went to work trying to figure a way out of this. It hadn't taken him long for his brightness to show through and he grunted a moment.

Sunstreaker could almost swear he heard the gears grinding in the Engineer's mind, "What? What is it?"

"Well, I think I might have an idea, it's just risky, and we will all be connected,"

"Connected?" Where exactly was Wheeljack going with this one?

"Yeah, through a spark bond … brothers, if you will, like you and 'Swipe," Wheeljack was insinuating they would be brothers? How awkward.

"Heh, it won't blow any of us up, will it?" He couldn't help himself.

"Funny," Wheeljack stated dryly, "No, it won't, you'll just have to deal with me on your private line with Sideswipe,"

"Joy," Sunstreaker's voice oozed sarcasm, "So not only will I have Sideswipe there to annoy me, but a crazy inventor too, make my day all the better, 'Jack,"

"_You're_ the one who entered here to save my aft," Wheeljack made sure he emphasized the 'you're', "deal with the consequences for your _unthinking_ actions," Oh, that tone. Smug as Pit.

_You are one lucky bot that I can't slap you upside the head for that one._

Why wasn't Wheeljack this fun any other time? "You know, you seem to be a lot happier in here,"

"Happier? _Happier?_ How could I possibly be _happy_ in here? I'm free, that's all,"

"You are one deprived Autobot, that's what you are," Sunstreaker smirked inwardly, thinking to himself how all of that was going to change being connected to the twins of terror.

"_Deprived?_ I'm an inventor, not a comedian, Sun_flower_,"

_Oh no he didn't just call me that_. "Oh, har har, so funny I forgot to laugh at that one, 'Jack," Again that sarcasm oozed, Sunstreaker shrugged, getting back to the plot at hand, "So, how do we go about waking up, hmm? And what if your body won't respond? They will all think I am lying or dreaming,"

"Only one way to find out," Sunstreaker felt Wheeljack hit his own circuits hard, "Wait! They got you completely wired into the computer!"

"I know this, I just wanted to see," He took a few more seconds to finalize what he suspected, "well then," Wheeljack calmed the touching of circuits, "maybe through you? Or Sideswipe?"

Sunstreaker gave Wheeljack a dubious glare, "How?" he asked slowly, hesitating, "How _exactly _do I do that?"

"Weeeellll, I'll have to have you open your connection with Sideswipe again. It is dangerous, and I bet he's already in stasis lock," Wheeljack sighed, "and since you're only wired into me, you should be able to access it."

"Yeah, right, sure… uh huh. You know, 'Jack, I am starting to wonder who the craziest one here really is,"

"You are," Wheeljack stated calmly.

"Me?" Sunstreaker asked, "Why _me_?"

"Because you were the fool who wanted to play hero, not even considering what it could have done,"

"Shut up,"

Wheeljack simpered; he knew how to do this, "Going through your core processor, you should be able to reactive yourself using me as a line also. Don't take too long, however, alright? I really don't want to die in the process."

"You mean this could kill you?"

"Oh? Did I say that? What I meant to say is, all three of us,"

"You're so comforting," Sunstreaker started to do as Wheeljack directed, linking himself deeply with Wheeljack as he did so, using him as a power boost and everything went bright white, and then dark. Suddenly he onlined his optics, still expecting to see Wheeljack standing there, only to find him on the berth, and find his own body slumped over him. He quickly regained his posture, and glanced towards the door, seeing everyone staring in at him, a few faces were pretty pissed off. He didn't want to deal with the swarm of them right now, but he had to, and he _dreaded_ it.

By Primus it had worked! No time for cheering now, however, he quickly moved, unhooking himself from the inventor's body, he ran to the door, hit the code bar again and tore down the barricade, nearly getting fallen on by Ratchet and Ironhide, "Ratchet, he's alive!" He started going on, "Wheeljack's ok! I mean, I think he's alright, he is in there, but he's also with me!" Everyone stared flabbergasted at him, they almost wanted to call him Bluestreak, "Listen, quit staring and do as I tell you, or rather, as he tells me to tell you,"

Huh? Had Sunstreaker fried his processor too? What was he going on about?

"What? What are you talking about kid? Did you hit your processor when you fell?" Ratchet asked with disbelief, "Let me check you,"

"No," The yellow twin held out his hand, "listen," Sunstreaker started to think of a way to explain what he had done, linking with Wheeljack, everything. He could feel Wheeljack's irritation from it taking so long, and silently went to the link, touching it gently, telling Wheeljack he was almost done, "I need Sideswipe awake, _fast_," Forgetting to tell them about his explorations into Wheeljack's mind, he wanted to get the other two awake before Wheeljack forever irritated him with that constant _poking_.

Everyone looked to the offline bot, "Sideswipe went into stasis lock when you shut down," Ratchet's face hardened, "Because you cut your link, you shocked his systems, you're an idiot."

"No time for that, _Hatchet_, just…" He growled to himself. Of course they were going to be stubborn at a time like this and not listen. He could feel Wheeljack hit the link again, telling him to hurry, and that time was running out.

Sunstreaker wasted no time in reaching out for his brother through the link, using him and Wheeljack as a boost to wake his sleeping brother, / Come on, you, get your aft up, I need you! /

/ Sunny, is that you? Oh Sunny, you frag head! What did you do to me – to us? / Sideswipe almost yelled.

/ No time for bickering, Siders, we have a job to do. /

/ Aw, come on bro, I just woke up, let me at least wake up completely first. /

Sideswipe felt something – No, some_one_ strange in his mind, like another bot had accessed their link. They hit their connection a second time, and it made the red twin shy backwards, / What was that?_ Who_ was that? /

_Was he always this brainless, or did he go to the academy for it?_ / I just saved Wheeljack's life! Reach out for him, I need you to concentrate on him! /

/ What? / _Huh?_ / No way, we can't just take a hold of random bots with our link, you know we can't, not like that, that link is only for you and me. /

/ Not anymore, bro, I know you felt him, that's who you felt hit the link, I felt it too, please, try, before it's too late, or it'll kill all three of us. /

/ You're kidding, aren't you? / He knew his brother joked with him, but now? He couldn't possibly be serious.

/ Would I kid you about something like this? /

There was a slight hesitation, / Uh… yeah, / He stated dryly.

Oh, Sideswipe was so gonna get a hit to the head for this if they made it out alive, / Just do it, Sides! /

Sideswipe did as his brother commanded, shock taking over his faceplates as he found Wheeljack there, "By Primus," he spoke out loud, as everyone looked at him curiously, "it _is_ Wheeljack!"

Sunstreaker sat down next to his brother. Now was the time to show everyone just how powerful a brother's bond was and that Wheeljack was going to be ok. Both of their optics dimmed as they reached far into the link, finding their new brother and pulled him slowly, allowing him to repair what needed to be repaired, busting down firewalls he could not break himself, and low and behold, Wheeljack started to wake right before everyone's optics. Gasps went around the room as they all expected the bot to thrash or speak wildly, but it did not come. Wheeljack set himself to reboot, the reboot he'd needed since the beginning. If they were so smart, they would have been able to figure it out, but they hadn't. Why hadn't they?

**System Reboot – Initialized**

**System reboot – Completed.**

**Restoring Core Processor power – Completed.**

He wasn't thrashing, his movements were controlled as he lifted his arm and started reaching for the many wires and lines that connected him to the computer. He started to disconnect his mind from the computer, the computer went haywire, beeping and screaming sirens that Wheeljack was dying, but he wasn't. The sound was annoying, though.

**Firewalls – Destroyed.**

He onlined his optics for the first time since this whole thing started and glanced around the room, "Would someone mind unhooking me the rest of the way?" he asked, "I don't really like being stuck to a beeping, screaming machine, thanks,"

Wow, had Wheeljack lost his logic processor?

Ratchet, Optimus and everyone stared, their jaws about on the floor as the heard Wheeljack's voice. They all sighed a deep sigh of relief. Sunstreaker was right. He had done it – they had done it! Wheeljack was coherent, and he was by all means healthy, even when Ratchet went to run a scan over him. No one could believe their optics.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe both stayed in their dreamlike states, as Ratchet continued to unhook Wheeljack and shut the machine that he was hooked to down. Wheeljack immediately went to test his new bond with the brothers, finding them both there, he reached for them, /Come on, you two, time to wake up/

/ We weren't even – / _What the frag_? / Wheeljack? /

/ Yes, it's me, now get up the both of yas, gotta show those over sized tin cans what you're made of, /

With that, both of the twins' optics grew bright and they started to move slowly. Wheeljack was standing near them, looking down at them and then smiled when Sunstreaker looked up with his brother. Both brothers wore a smile, / How do you two feel? /

Sunstreaker stood up completely and without a second thought reached out and… _Thwack_! He then reached for his brother, who was still on the ground and... _Thwack_!

Wheeljack backed up suddenly, rubbing his helm, "What the frag was that for!?"

"Yeah, really, what did _I_ do?" Sideswipe asked, confused.

"For our conversation earlier," Sunstreaker grinned at Wheeljack, and for you, he nodded to his brother, "I made a promise that if we made it out, I owed you... _both_."

"Gee, thanks, and here I was going to thank you for saving my aft back there!" Wheeljack groaned.

"Not in your life, or ours, for that matter," Sunstreaker helped his brother up and then smiled at Wheeljack, "You're completely functional?"

"And then some," Wheeljack added, nodding to the two brothers, "Thanks, the both of you,"

"Hey, what are _brothers_ for?" Sunstreaker beamed. He was right; all three of them were bonded now, instead of the two. Wheeljack would be paying for the rest of his life for this one, and he only hope that Primus liked him a little bit, being bonded to the twins of doom, but it would be worth every second of it. He never knew what it was like to have brothers, and now he would find out.

All three of them turned to see everyone silent. Ratchet twitched. Had they just fixed Wheeljack _without_ his help? At least they were all alive, and that is what counted.

* * *

_The end... For now anyways. Hope you all enjoyed the twist I put in there. _


End file.
